Chapter 6
They had barely closed half the distance to the woods when Eryn looked back and saw that the soldiers were following. Two of them, the ones with the bows. She saw the others with the torches back near the house, and a moment later the roof began to smoke.
"They're burning it down," she cried. Roddin hadn't turned to look. He had enough to deal with, worrying about what was in front of them.
"We don't need it anymore," he said. "We can't go home, Erie. We can't ever go home."
If she'd had time to think about it, she would have cried. She knew if they lived the time to mourn would come, but it would have to wait. She had promised her mother she would survive, and she was going to put all of her courage and effort into that.
"They're gaining," she said, watching the rear while Roddin maneuvered Maxin towards the first copse of berry bushes. She remembered being out there just that morning, picking the berries for their porridge.
"We're almost there," he replied. His voice was stern and strong, so unlike the playful tone she was used to.
Eryn kept her eyes on the soldiers behind them, noticing that the other four had chosen to remain behind. Were they so sure that they would catch the two of them? Did they have any reason not to be?
"Watch out," she squealed, seeing the solider's arm slide back, his body arched sideways on the horse while he trained his bow. Roddin directed Maxin to the right, and the arrow landed in the dirt beside them. "We aren't going to make it."
"Yes we are." He kicked into Maxin's sides, and the horse drove forward. He knew the forest, especially here at the edge. He knew all of the nooks and crannies, the narrow trails and rocks and streams. He knew the best path to take to lose them. The soldiers vanished behind them as they pushed into the woods.
Roddin rode the horse hard, left and right and left again, in a pattern designed to lose the soldiers. He leaped over a thicket of briar, and pounded across a puddle, deep from yesterday's rain. Finally, he let the exhausted horse slow to a walk.
"Do you th-"
"Shh..." Roddin raised his finger to his lips and sat perfectly still, listening. Eryn didn't hear anything.
"I think we lost them," Eryn whispered, after a minute or more had passed.
"I think we did," her brother agreed. He turned on the horse's back and slid off. "Come on."
"What are you dong?" She wasn't sure it was a good idea to get down. What if they needed to make a quick escape?
"Two people are much quieter and less noticeable than a horse," he said. "We have to leave him behind."
She didn't want to, but she knew they must. She leaned over Maxin's neck and kissed the side of his head. "Thank you," she said, before jumping off.
"This way." Roddin pointed towards a brace of poisonous ivy. "Try not to let it touch your skin, but if it must, it must. I can make a salve later. They won't be expecting us to go that way."
Eryn didn't argue. She was glad she had worn her pants and blouse today, along with her leather boots. She didn't usually dress so boyishly to do the household chores, but she had stained the only dress she cared for during a stick-fighting match with Roddin only two days back, and her mother hadn't had time to wash it.
Mother. The thought of her came unbidden to her mind, and it was all she could do to keep walking. Her mother was dead, she realized. Her father was dead. She had seen the arrows in his chest, and the swords in his stomach.
Without warning, her insides began to churn, and a moment later she was leaning against a tree, heaving onto the grass.
"Eryn, are you okay?" Roddin put his arm around her shoulders and helped her steady.
She wanted to scream, and to cry, and to shake with anger and rage. She wanted to lay there and never move again. She'd promised she would survive. She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself.
"I know," he said. "There will be time for that later. Right now we have to be quiet."
They walked through the poisonous ivy, careful to step between the leaves and the vines so that their feet wouldn't leave a trail. Eryn stumbled once, her hand coming down on the plant. She felt the slippery substance that coated the leaves spread across her hand, and she stifled a groan, knowing it was going to itch like a bucket of fleas in an hour or two.
After the ivy, they came to a clearing. Crossing it was a gigantic fallen tree. At one time, it must have been standing in the center, its massive roots taking all of the nutrients from the soil around it and not leaving enough for any of the other growth except for moss and grasses.
"I've never been in this part of the Wood before," Eryn said.
"I came here with Master Lewyn a fortnight back. We sat on top of the old redwood and looked at the stars. He showed me the constellations."
"Constellations?"
"Yes. A long time ago, scholars looked at the sky and decided to name the shapes the lights made. I don't know why, but it was fun trying to pick them out."
"I wish you could show me the constellations." Eryn looked up at the sky. She could see the white lights winking back at her, but she knew they didn't have time to stop and stare.
"One day I will," Roddin said. "I promise."
They kept walking towards the other side of the clearing, when they heard the loud snap of a branch breaking.
"Get under the tree," Roddin said. "Quickly."
They turned and ran back to the old tree, finding a space between the trunk and a branch to tuck themselves into.
Eryn's heart pounded, and she was squeezed in so tight with her brother that she could feel his heart was pounding too. They both sat motionless, trying not to even breathe, listening to every wisp of sound that made it into their hiding place.
A minute passed, and then another, and then another. Just when Eryn was going to say she thought it was safe to leave, they heard the snort of a horse, and then the sound of hooves on the grass. The soldiers were here!
They sat in the shadow of the tree and waited. There was a dim light from the sky, and it was added to by the torches the soldiers were now carrying.
The soldiers moved slowly through the clearing, and one approached the tree, waving his torch back and forth so it would light up the crevices between the branches.
"They couldn't have gotten far," the one that was further away said. His voice was deep and rough.
"Not without their horse," the other agreed. He sounded more kind. "It was a kindness to put that old nag down."
Eryn sucked in her breath, making the slightest gasping sound. They had killed Maxin too!
"Did you hear that?" The soldier near the tree stopped moving and dismounted his stallion. A dozen heartbeats later, they could see the very bottom of his feet past their branch.
"Just the wind," the other one said.
The soldier swung his torch, and Eryn watched the flickering glow of it move closer. She could feel Roddin tensing next to her, ready to defend his sister if they were discovered.
Except the branch was too thick, and the torchlight couldn't penetrate deep enough into the crook. For just a moment they could see the darkness of his eyes, shadowed by the metal helm, and then he turned and walked back the other way. There was a creak of leather as he regained his mount, and they rode out of the clearing.
Eryn waited a long time before speaking. "They didn't see us," she whispered.
"No. We can go out and stretch our legs. I think we're safe for tonight, but we have to try to keep moving. They know we're out here, which means if those two don't find us, they'll send more soldiers."
"Roddin?" Eryn said, once they had left the safety of the tree and stretched their legs out.
"Yes?"
"Why are you helping me?" She felt so tired, and so scared. She could only imagine that her brother felt the same way.
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I help you? We're family."
"I've heard stories," Eryn said. "Molly Timber used to say that Cursed weren't safe from anyone, not even their own families. Because..." She stumbled over the words. "Because people knew if they protected them, they would be killed too." She fought against her tears again, intent on staying quiet.
"I'd rather die protecting my sister, than live as a coward," Roddin said. "Mother and father felt the same way. I miss them too, and in time I'll mourn for them, but I know their end was a proud one. They are with Amman now, basking in His light and peace."
"Thank you," Eryn said.
"You don't need to thank me," he replied. "Anyone who wouldn't take care of their little sister deserves their place with Heden."
"He deserves to be with Heden," she said.
"Yes," Roddin agreed.
"Roddin?" Eryn said again.
"Yes?"
"How do you think they found out about me? You said one of the villagers told them. Who? And how did they know? I haven't used the Curse, only a few times in the attic, and maybe once or twice by the berry bushes when no one else was around."
Her brother was silent. He stared up into the night sky. He looked down at the grass beneath their feet. When he finally looked at her, he had tears in his eyes.
"Edwyn told them," he said. "After I told him."
Eryn's breath caught in her throat, and she took a step away from her brother. She felt like she was suffocating, and there was nowhere to turn for air.
"Why would you do that?" she croaked.
"I didn't mean to," he said. "Eryn, I'm sorry." He stepped towards her, but she backed away. "It was during the last full moon. I went to visit with him after returning with Master Lewyn. I found him out in his stables, with a jug of something foul. He held it out to me, and told me I was a yellow toad if I wouldn't drink it. So I drank it."
Eryn couldn't believe what she was hearing. She couldn't believe her own brother had been the one to spill her secret. That he had been the one who caused the soldiers to come, and for her parents to be laying dead in a field, their house burned to the ground. Constable Yarrow, and even their horse.
"The drink, it... made me say things. Tell secrets. It made us both tell secrets. That's how I knew Edwyn was taking a liking to you, at least until he found out what you were."
"I can't believe you did that. I can't believe you would be so irresponsible." Her voice was beginning to rise, and Roddin put his finger to his lips.
"The next day, I made him promise not to tell. He swore that he wouldn't, because we were best friends, and he wouldn't want to hurt me. I thought that was the end of it. He broke his promise to me."
Roddin walked towards her, and tried to give her a hug.
"You broke your promise to me!" Eryn didn't think, she just acted, pulling back her arm and slapping him in the face, as hard as she could.
She had more muscle and more strength than a typical fourteen year-old girl. The slap echoed into the night, and Roddin's head jerked to the side. He fell to the ground, doubled over in pain.
"They're dead because of you," she said.
"I know," he replied, his voice heavy and quiet. "It's all my fault."
"It is all your fault." The words didn't come from Eryn. The voice was a woman's voice. Both of their heads turned in the direction of the speaker.
She was standing in the clearing, only a dozen feet away. They had never heard her coming. She had long golden hair that framed her delicate face, and crystal blue eyes. She was wearing a shimmering black dress that hugged against her body, covered by a heavy black cloak. A long staff of shining metal rested in her hand. The top of the staff was shaped like the claw of a raptor, holding a glowing blue crystal in its teeth.
Roddin thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I am Lia. I've come for you, Eryn," she said. "I've come to help you."
Eryn didn't know what she meant. Help her? Who was this strange woman?
"Help me?" She was barely able to speak, and the words fell out nearly silent, but Lia heard them all the same.
"Yes. You have the Curse."
That was when she saw it. Almost hidden below her neck, holding her cloak to her, was a red crystal clasp in the shape of an eye.
"You're one of his," she said. The realization hung in the air between them.
"You shouldn't have run, Eryn," Lia said. "We can't take you when you run. He doesn't approve."
Roddin got to his feet, taking his knife from his hip. "Leave her alone," he said, snapping out of whatever trance her beauty had put him under.
Lia smiled at him. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry it has to be this way."
She lifted the staff and pointed the crystal at him. A blue bolt of lightning shot from the tip, hitting Roddin in the chest and throwing him backwards.
"Roddin!" Eryn forgot about the woman and ran to her brother, leaning over him. The lightning had gone right through his leathers, leaving them smoking. She rushed to pull them off, frantic to help him. "Roddin."
His eyes were open, looking up at her. She got them off, and then gasped.
There was a hole through his body, and she could see the grass beneath him. He wasn't looking at her. He was dead.
Eryn whipped her head around to look at the woman, her body filling with rage. "You killed him," she shouted.
She didn't care if the soldiers came back. What did it matter, if they had already been discovered? What did it matter, if her entire family was dead?
"I'm sorry," Lia repeated.
Eryn saw that she had a tear in her eye. A tear of blood.
"You're Cursed?" All of the anger fled her, and she was left with nothing but confusion.
Lia didn't answer. She turned the staff, pointing it at Eryn.
In that instant, Eryn's mind took her to another place. She traveled back in time, to the day that had started so perfect and had ended so awful. To her life before this day, this moment, when she had unlocked her Curse in order to save Roddin from being trampled to death.
In that instant, she remembered what it was like to feel the tingle in her ears, to will the power to come, to wish and hope beyond hope that she could change the inevitable.
She didn't know what she did, and she could hardly recall what happened after. She remembered seeing the glow of the crystal become more intense, and she remembered feeling the tingling in her ears. After that, the entire world had gone dark.